HNK Rijeka - History

History

The club was founded as NK Kvarner in 1946, after Rijeka (known by its Italian name Fiume up to 1945) passed from Italy to Yugoslavia following the end of World War II. Some dispute this and claim that the club's roots date back to 1926, the founding of U.S. Fiumana, which competed in various levels of the Italian Football Championship, including a season in the top tier competition (Divisione Nazionale) in 1928. Their claim is backed by the fact that there is a clear continuity between the two clubs. For example, besides using the same grounds (Stadion Kantrida), as many as eight U.S. Fiumana players later played for NK Kvarner.

During its early period in Yugoslavia, the club had moderate success in various Yugoslav and local club championships. It changed its name to NK Rijeka on June 3, 1954, and advanced to the Yugoslav First League in the 1957–58 season. It remained in the top tier until the 1969–70 season, when it got relegated to the Second League. It topped that league many times but it wasn't until 1973–74 when it returned to the First League, where it would remain until the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Rijeka won the Yugoslav Cup in 1978 and 1979, was a runner-up in 1987, won the Croatian Cup in 2005 and in 2006, was a runner-up in 1994. On numerous occasions, Rijeka participated in various UEFA competitions. Although it never advanced to the final stages of the competition, Rijeka has topped and shocked some of the biggest clubs in the history of soccer on its home field during the 1980s, including Real Madrid and Juventus. Rijeka was also the best placed Croatian club in the Yugoslav First League in 1965, 1984, and 1987.

Rijeka has been playing in the Prva HNL since the independence of Croatia in 1991, generally finishing near the top. Notably it finished second in 1999 and 2006 and third in 2004. Due to many format changes of the league, Rijeka has played more games in the competition than any other team. In the 2004–2005 season, its player Tomislav Erceg was the top scorer of the Prva HNL with 17 goals.

In February 2012, Gabriele Volpi, an Italian businessman and oil magnate, and also the owner of Spezia Calcio and Pro Recco, injected the much needed capital into the club. Volpi, now in de facto control of the club, is set to become the owner of 70 percent of the club once the privatisation process is complete, with the City of Rijeka to control the remaining 30 percent.